Garryowen, Limerick
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Garryowen () is a neighbourhood in
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.


History

The word Garryowen is a transliteration of the Irish Garraí Eoin - "the garden of Owen" - and relates to the association in the 12th century between St John's Church and the
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
whose house in Limerick was dedicated to
John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
. In medieval times Garryowen was located just outside the Irishtown area of the walled city of Limerick. The citadel (located in the grounds of St. John's Hospital) was the Irishtown's main fortification. In 1690, it was the scene of a heroic Jacobite defence-the battle of the breach-which was fought nearby during the
Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...
of 1688–91. The
sally port A sallyport is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter and ...
of the original stronghold has been incorporated into the structure of St John's Hospital. Other parts of the city walls can still be seen within the hospital grounds. The Citadel remained in use as a military barracks until 1752. St John's Gate was situated on the main roadway, nearby, but no trace of it now remains.


Landmarks

St John's Cathedral is located in the area and dates from 1861 and has Ireland's tallest spire at 94m. St John's Hospital is located adjacent to the cathedral which dates back to 1780 and was founded by Lady Hartstonge and other benefactors as a Fever and Lock Hospital and treated epidemics during the Great Famine (1845-1847). St John's Square is located across the way from the cathedral and was Limerick’s first example of fashionable architecture and civic spaces and was completed in 1751. For a time the area was considered one of Limerick's most fashionable residential areas.


Amenities

Garryowen Football Club Garryowen Football Club (Irish: ''Cumann Rugbaí Gharraí Eoin''), usually referred to as Garryowen, is a rugby union club from Limerick, Ireland. As at the 2024–25 season, it plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. Historically, Ga ...
, a prominent
Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
club in Ireland's
AIB League The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league w ...
has its origins in the area; however it is no longer located in the neighbourhood of Garryowen but rather in the
Dooradoyle Dooradoyle ( Irish: ''Tuar an Daill'') is a large suburb of Limerick, Ireland. It is one of Limerick's newer suburbs, and is home to the campus of University Hospital Limerick and the Crescent Shopping Centre. Etymology The name Dooradoyle ...
area of the Limerick Suburbs. The
Markets Field The Markets Field is a UEFA category two stadium in Garryowen, Limerick, Ireland with a capacity of around 3,500. Formerly the home of Limerick FC, it is currently the home ground of Treaty United. The ground has hosted underage internatio ...
was Garryowen's home ground until 1958 when they moved to Dooradoyle. The Markets Field has since been in use as a
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
stadium until July 2010. It is the home of Limerick Senior Soccer following the acquisition of the grounds by Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership.


In popular culture

*
Garryowen Football Club Garryowen Football Club (Irish: ''Cumann Rugbaí Gharraí Eoin''), usually referred to as Garryowen, is a rugby union club from Limerick, Ireland. As at the 2024–25 season, it plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. Historically, Ga ...
, is one of Ireland's most successful Rugby Union Clubs. * The garryowen kick; a garryowen is a very high up and under kick (named after the rugby club) designed to put the opposing team under pressure, by allowing the kicking team time to arrive under and compete for the high ball. * The Garryowen air, is an Irish tune for a quickstep dance. This song emerged in the late 18th century, when it was a drinking song of rich young roisterers in Limerick. It obtained immediate popularity in the British Army through the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers. * '' Garryowen'' was also the title of a 1920s film. It concerns an impoverished Irish gentleman who tries to rescue his family from ruin by running his horse Garryowen at the Epsom Derby. * " Sean South of Garryowen", is an Irish republican ballad written by Sean Costelloe to the tune of another republican ballad "
Roddy McCorley Roddy McCorley (died 28 February 1800) was an Irish nationalist from the civil parish of Duneane, County Antrim, Ireland. Following the publication of the Ethna Carbery poem bearing his name in 1902, where he is associated with events around the ...
" and popularised by the
Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...
. Another rebel song, "
Jackets Green ''Jackets Green'' is an Irish ballad by Michael Scanlan (1833–1917) concerning an Irish woman and her beloved, an Irish soldier fighting in the Jacobite army of Patrick Sarsfield during the Williamite War of the late 17th century. Like some ...
", mentions Garryowen.


References

Limerick (city) Towns and villages in County Limerick